Chapter 1: Life Out Here Goes Fast
The night had always been beautiful in his eyes. The stars that shined brightly upon them along with the large rock that circled the sun like a younger sibling, the night was always perfect to him.
Many people were afraid of darkness, or rather, were afraid of what was inside the darkness. That was okay. Everyone had different fears. Some were afraid of skiing, others of spiders, tight spaces and even death.
For many years, people couldn’t understand why people were afraid of the darkness but could comment on how beautiful the night was. That is until he realised that the moon shines brightly, illuminating enough so people could see where they were going. That was the darkness they weren’t afraid of, the darkness that illuminated slightly what was before them.
For many years, Spike hadn’t been afraid of death, it was something that only happened to old people. Old people started to rethink their life and became too afraid other than pray to God that they were sorry for all sins that they have committed throughout their life. All because they were afraid of the afterlife.
Why would Spike be afraid of something that only happened to old people?
But then… then his best friend passed away. That’s when he realised that death… never picks a side.
You see, Spike was a street racer. He enjoyed racing cars on the street with his friends, hearing his engine roar on empty streets when no one was around and could even win money if he knew where to find the right people.
His best friend, Flash Sentry was also a street racer.
They had been friends since kindergarten and were inseparable. Their mothers were friends from High School and kept close contact. Because of this, Spike and Flash grew close. Their love for cars was also a big help.
While their fathers would watch sports like, hockey, football, baseball and even boxing, Spike and Flash would rather watch NASCAR and Formula 1.
They would always bet on who was the better racer, the loser did the homework.
Their love for cars grew over the years. When they turned sixteen and earned their driver's licenses, they had been ecstatic. They could finally drive a real car without an instructor or parent to hover over them!
Spike’s present for a car had been a Toyota GR 86 while Flash had gotten a Volvo 740.
They had been happy to receive their cars and hugged their parents as if they had been gone for years only to return. Needless to say, they were regular drivers and were natural at it. All their years of playing racing games had helped them with their driver's tests.
But then, like any other teenagers, they started to drive a little faster each passing night, wanting to see just how fast they could drive. This, of course, alerted the police that two maniacs were driving at night at high speeds.
The Police regularly tried to catch them but never did. The license plate was smaller than other cars so they couldn’t even get the plates license to find them.
But it wasn’t just the police they caught the attention of. They had also caught the attention of a street racing league who were looking for recruits interested in racing. Specifically, street racing, high risk, high paying rewards.
Being the teenagers that they were, they agreed to it, not seeing the harm it could do.
They were good at racing. Very good. It had gathered a lot of attention over the two years they had raced every week. Flash and Spike were tied for number one but no one was sure if the other was better. Because of this, it would always end in a draw whenever it was just them facing one another.
They’d split the money and call it a night.
Spike was driving on the highway and looked at the tunnel up ahead that brought back so many memories that he had with Flash. He allowed a few tears to run down his face. No one else was around anyways, he was the only one driving at three in the morning.
One night, however, it would all come crashing down on them.
Flash and Spike like usual were street racing on a Monday night—hours before school would start—and wondered if it would be this night that one of them would finally win. They had started the race ten minutes prior and would take another fifteen minutes before they got to the finish line.
They turned left, right, right, left, and so on during the many turns. Flash was excellent on these turns because his car was essentially built for drifting which he was an expert at.
However, Flash made one fatal mistake.
…A mistake that cost him his life.
Spike had been right behind him when it happened. Flash had started drifting to the right which was their turn. It had been raining which had made the drift far more dangerous. Because of the water and drift, Flash crashed into a pole at high speed.
There had been a big crash and five minutes later, police and an ambulance were on the scene.
Spike had been interrogated but he replied to all their questions with a neutral expression on his face and his voice sounded so… dead. Like the one speaking wasn’t alive or energetic.
While the police had been angry at the two for street racing, they understood that Spike, still a teenager, just lost his best friend. It was no surprise that he wasn’t himself. They had revoked his license and was suspended from driving for two years.
Spike had only nodded his head in agreement.
His parents had been disappointed but were more concerned for his mental health. His younger sister had cried with him. Flash’s parents had never blamed Spike and even told him it wasn’t his fault.
Spike had hoped they would blame him. Because to him; it was his fault.
Now, two years later he was driving his car again. His parents never sold it because they hoped that their son would lose his fear of driving which had not been easy.
At first, when his license had been returned and he did all the tests—at the insistence of his parents—he refused to drive. But one day, his sister needed to meet a friend but neither of their parents could take her. Spike had seen her sad face and debated with himself before he sighed and told her to get inside the backseat of his car and that he’d take her.
He hadn’t noticed the smile his parents had while he led her to the car.
Now today, in the present moment. He was simply driving and thinking about the street racing he had once done. While it was fun and exhilarating, it had cost him his best friends’ life. You can be the richest man in the world, but you can not pay for someone’s resurrection.
He would do anything to get his friend back, even give up driving cars entirely if it meant having his friend back. But he knew that it was impossible.
His school knew about the street racing. They knew long before Flash died but they never said anything. Vice-Principal Luna and Principal Celestia would talk about anything with him. He never said he street raced but he always got the feeling that they knew of his activities.
Even now, they have never said they knew about it.
Perhaps it did not need to be said.
Spike drove inside the tunnel and felt nostalgia hit his head with memories. He remembered how Flash and he would race like lunatics and up the speed just to hear which engine was louder. Back then, it had been funny. Now, it was a painful reminder of what he had lost.
The tunnel wasn’t anything special. It was made from smooth stone with lights hanging on the ceiling with three lanes. It was more of a sentimental value.
The ride through the tunnel lasted five minutes, but for Spike, it felt like an eternity. He didn’t hear the engines that he once heard. He could only—in his memories—hear the laughter they would have.
Spike looked towards the beautiful city of Canterlot, the city he had grown up in together with his best friend and gave a sad smile. There was one thing he knew that every human on earth could agree to, no matter what situation they were in, no matter what problems they had with one another.
“Life Out Here Goes Fast,” Spike spoke quietly for himself.
Author's Note
Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here back with another one-shot that I got inspired to write. I hope you guys enjoyed this, admittingly, short story. It has been raining for the last few days where I live and I love it. I genuinely love the rain, it gives me the motivation to write stories which Is why during the colder seasons I’m more “active” so to speak.
That was all, and I will write to you guys next time.
